Pa. man who killed NJ casino boss gets 30 years

MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man who admitted gunning down an Atlantic City casino supervisor last year was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in state prison without parole.

Mark Magee, 58, of Norristown, Pa., pleaded guilty to murder in June, admitting that he walked into Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort on May 27, 2009, with a grudge and a gun. Magee said he believed casinos cheat gamblers by electronically manipulating table games like roulette and craps.

Magee said he targeted 57-year-old shift manager Ray Kot, whom he knew from regularly gambling there. Armed with a .38-caliber revolver in his pocket loaded with five bullets, Magee bided his time for hours, waiting until Kot walked away from the crowded casino floor because "I didn't want to hurt anybody else."

When Kot walked into a card and dice room, just off the casino floor, Magee followed him, told a security guard to move aside, and shot Kot three times. Magee was arrested outside of the casino shortly after, and Kot later died at a hospital.

Kot, an Egg Harbor Township resident, was a Chinese immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1970 unable to speak English and worked his way up from menial jobs. He had been with the Taj Mahal since it opened in 1990.

"This sentence serves justice and, we hope, will help the healing continue for the many loved ones and co-workers of Mr. Kot who were devastated by his murder," state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said Wednesday.